NCAA men's tourney: Florida Gulf Coast faces villains from Florida

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dust off the black hat — extra large, please. The Florida Gators will need it again on Friday night.

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By Edgar Thompson

recordonline.com

By Edgar Thompson

Posted Mar. 29, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Edgar Thompson

Posted Mar. 29, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

ARLINGTON, Texas — Dust off the black hat — extra large, please. The Florida Gators will need it again on Friday night.

With Florida Gulf Coast University up next for Florida in the Sweet 16, the Gators will look to reprise their role as NCAA tournament villain and spoil everyone's Cinderella story.

On their way to the national title, the 2006 Gators ended George Mason's remarkable Final Four run. No. 3 Florida (28-7) now looks to send No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast (26-10) back to Fort Myers and suck all the air out of so-called "Dunk City."

Outside of Gator Nation, the high-flying Eagles will be the team everyone tunes in to watch on Friday night. Tipoff is at 10:07 p.m. and the game is airing on TBS. Other than the 500 fans that purchased UF's ticket allotment, the Gators are expecting the 30,000 people in Cowboys Stadium to be rooting against them.

"That's why Cinderella is so big, because everyone wants to see them go on," Florida center Patric Young said. "When George Mason did its thing, that Gator team faced the same thing. The fans are going to be against us.

"If we were in Florida, I think it would be different. But we're not."

Friday night's game might be in Texas and next week's Final Four in Atlanta, but the stakes could be highest back in the Sunshine State.

A victory for the upstart Eagles against the mighty Gators would be as sweet for Florida Gulf Coast as it would be bitter for UF, the state's flagship university.

"This is a great opportunity for us," Eagles sophomore forward Eric McKnight said. "We have something to prove to the state of Florida."

At a school where surfing and wakeboarding are selling points to prospective students, Florida Gulf Coast has been riding a wave after it upset Georgetown and San Diego State to become the highest seed to reach the Sweet 16.

The Eagles returned to home to a raucous pep rally and endless media inquiries as coach Andy Enfield and his players received celebrity treatment for a few days.

The Gators, on the other hand, stayed in Texas. Their first two tournament games were played in Austin, Texas, and they made the short trip to Arlington for the next round. They remained removed from the hype and hubbub, preparing in anonymity.